CHAPTER XIII – Thu­via, Maid of Mars begins with Cartho­ris assum­ing the iden­ti­ty of Tur­jun, a pan­than serv­ing Dusar, as a strate­gic response to the polit­i­cal quag­mire caused by a brew­ing war between Heli­um and Dusar. The con­flict, born of manip­u­la­tion and hid­den agen­das, has placed Cartho­ris in the midst of his ene­mies, where reveal­ing his true iden­ti­ty would lead to capture—or worse. Adopt­ing this new role allows him to move unseen through the ranks of Dusar­i­an forces, keep­ing him close to key con­spir­a­tors while he plans to pro­tect Helium’s inter­ests and res­cue Thu­via.

The chap­ter inten­si­fies as Cartho­ris observes the inter­play between Vas Kor and Astok, whose ambi­tion and cow­ardice blend into a dan­ger­ous scheme. They speak open­ly of Thuvia’s abduc­tion and the planned decep­tion meant to ignite war while elim­i­nat­ing her as a polit­i­cal obsta­cle. Cartho­ris real­izes that if he does not inter­vene soon, Thu­via may fall vic­tim to a crime designed to plunge Bar­soom into chaos, a crime that would dis­hon­or Heli­um and endan­ger peace across sev­er­al cities.

With qui­et resolve, Cartho­ris uses his cov­er to gain clos­er access to the “Thuria,” the air­ship cho­sen for the plot’s final stage. He’s joined by Kar Komak, a spir­it­ed and loy­al war­rior dis­placed from the men­tal cities of Lothar, whose illu­sions can man­i­fest into for­mi­da­ble weapon­ry. Their alliance, built on shared pur­pose and mutu­al trust, becomes a for­mi­da­ble asset as they plot from with­in. Onboard the Thuria, Cartho­ris keeps his inten­tions hid­den while watch­ing every move Vas Kor and Astok make, all while work­ing out how best to dis­rupt their treach­ery with­out alert­ing the crew.

Despite being sur­round­ed by ene­mies, Cartho­ris remains calm, know­ing one wrong move could expose him. His mind con­stant­ly scans for oppor­tu­ni­ties to strike while also weigh­ing the con­se­quences of mis­cal­cu­la­tion. His ded­i­ca­tion to Thu­via isn’t por­trayed sole­ly as roman­tic yearn­ing but as a noble oblig­a­tion to pro­tect some­one inno­cent from being used as a pawn in a greater war. This sense of pur­pose gives him clar­i­ty and direc­tion in a sit­u­a­tion designed to dis­ori­ent.

Kar Komak’s back­ground as a man once bound by illu­sions yet now act­ing as a flesh-and-blood ally mir­rors the decep­tive cir­cum­stances they find them­selves nav­i­gat­ing. His skills in com­bat and his unique under­stand­ing of Lothar­i­an mind con­trol offer an edge that con­ven­tion­al war­riors lack. Cartho­ris relies on this part­ner­ship, and their coor­di­na­tion proves vital as they learn more about where Thu­via is being held and how the assas­si­na­tion plot will unfold.

The deep­er theme of hon­or amid espi­onage sur­faces as Cartho­ris reflects on his posi­tion. Though he wears the armor of his ene­mies, his actions remain deeply loy­al to Heli­um and its ideals. He is dis­gust­ed by the deceit he wit­ness­es among the Dusar­i­an nobles, and yet he under­stands that some­times sub­terfuge is the only way to pre­vent greater blood­shed. His sense of jus­tice fuels his desire to pro­tect Thu­via, not for glo­ry but to pre­serve peace and pre­vent inno­cent blood from becom­ing a jus­ti­fi­ca­tion for war.

As the Thuria glides through Barsoom’s sky, ten­sion builds. Cartho­ris and Kar Komak edge clos­er to a point of action, plan­ning to inter­cept Thuvia’s cap­tors before the final blow can be struck. With each over­heard con­ver­sa­tion and veiled threat, the urgency to act increas­es. The stakes grow higher—not only Thuvia’s life but the fate of Ptarth, Heli­um, and Dusar hang in the bal­ance.

The chap­ter con­cludes on a precipice, with Carthoris’s dual iden­ti­ty giv­ing him an edge but also plac­ing him in extreme per­il. His mind and blade are ready, but the dan­ger is mount­ing, and time is run­ning out. This install­ment reveals not only the com­plex­i­ties of Mar­t­ian diplo­ma­cy but the per­son­al tri­als endured by those who must act in silence to pre­vent war. Through clever maneu­ver­ing, unwa­ver­ing loy­al­ty, and the qui­et courage of a man in dis­guise, the chap­ter sets the tone for a high-stakes res­cue mis­sion that could deter­mine the future of Bar­soom.